Noosa is sending a powerhouse team of seven athletes to the HYROX World Championships in Chicago on 12 June, including inspiring mums, an emergency doctor, and a Eumundi teacher.
HYROX has taken over the fitness world, combining both running and functional workout stations, where participants run 1km, followed by a functional workout station, repeated eight times.
The HYROX World Championships are the pinnacle of each season, where the fastest racers from around the world come together to battle it out.
The tight-knit group from Base Training Co Noosa who have made the cut are: Monique Martin, Jenny Zernich, Tanya Bohlmann, Lara Graham, Jay Clark, Justin Brewer, and Paul Quincey.
“HYROX is a hugely competitive race with 25,000 racers in the upcoming Sydney event next month,” Noosa business owner Paul Quincey said.
Eumundi teacher and mum of two, Monique Martin said, “Three of us are ‘mummas’ of two kids each. It’s a mental challenge and I think being mums helps us kind of run into the fire, you know?”
“It’s really humbling, but we keep going back for more, so we’re a bit sick in the head, really. We get in a pain cave. And we’ve made a really good group of women that are really supportive of each other.”
Noosa business owner and mum of two, Jenny Zernich said, “It’s pretty incredible to make the cut, out of so many people in the world, that are competing in this.”
“We’re probably past the age of being able to compete in professional sport, but to have that opportunity in older age, and it also just be a hobby, and then to take that further and just get that experience of competing on a world stage. It’s fantastic that it’s opened up these opportunities for people who thought they were past their best.”
When asked what the hardest part of the race was, emergency physician at SCUH and mum of two, Tanya Bohlmann said, “You’ve just got to pick a station. They’re all really hard. Burpees make you question life.”
“Fitting in Hyrox training means super early mornings, post-school sessions and in between the kids’ sports. Together we just make it work. All of us support and motivate one another so getting the training done doesn’t feel like a chore. We all want to push harder, perform better and grow stronger. It’s inspiration having friends that share the same goals. Humour and sweat are the main drivers of our training.”
They’re training hard and prioritising recovery while feeling a mix of excitement and adrenaline in the lead up to the championships.
Monique said, “Hyrox is brutal, relentless, and sometimes slightly unhinged—but we wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’re thinking of giving Hyrox a go, just do it. The oldest competitor was 77 years old. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.”
